Written Answers Tuesday 9 August 2005

Scottish Executive

Business Rates

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the small business rate relief scheme has cost (a) central government and (b) local government in each year since 1997.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Small Business Rate Relief Scheme was introduced in 2003-04. The estimated cost to the Scottish Executive since then is given in the following table. The Scheme has no cost to local government.

  

2003-04
£10.7 million


2004-05
£10.8 million


2005-06
£12.7 million

Business Rates

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the small business rate relief scheme has cost businesses with a rateable value of £25,000 and above in terms of the supplement paid on the rate poundage (a) in total and (b) on average in each year since 1997.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Small Business Rate Relief Scheme was introduced in 2003-04. The estimated cost to larger subjects is:

  

Year
Cost to Larger Subjects
Number of Contributing Subjects
Average Cost per Larger Subject


2003-04 (Paid by subjects with a rateable value greater than £25,000)
£19.7m
Not Available
Not Available


2004-05 (Paid by subjects with a rateable value greater than £25,000)
£10.1m
27,814
£363


2005-06 (Paid by subjects with a rateable value greater than £29,000)
£17.8m
27,862
£639


Total
£47.8m

Business Rates

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses are eligible for the five per cent discount on non-domestic rates through the small business rate relief scheme including, and broken down by, those eligible for (a) charitable rate relief, (b) disabled persons rate rebate, (c) farm diversification rate relief, (d) rural rate relief, (e) derating allowance (stud farms) and (f) relief for premises that remain empty.

Mr Tom McCabe: As at 1 April 2005, 137,394 subjects on the Valuation Rolls for Scotland were eligible for at least the 5% discount. Information on how many of these subjects are in receipt of other reliefs is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) salaried dentists and (b) vacancies for salaried dentists there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. The appointment of salaried dentists is a matter for NHS boards.

Dentistry

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been on a waiting list to register for a community dentist in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Lewis Macdonald: Information on waiting lists to register with dentists under NHS general dental services is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients had to travel outwith their NHS board area for dental treatment in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area of residence.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what allowances or reimbursement of travelling expenses are available to those who have to travel by necessity outwith their NHS board area for dental treatment.

Lewis Macdonald: No such allowances or reimbursements are automatically available. NHS boards wishing to set up such a scheme can seek guidance from the Executive.

Disabled People

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in order to address the issue of vehicle drivers not in possession of a blue badge parking their vehicles in parking spaces that are clearly marked as being for the use of blue badge holders and their associated vehicles only.

Tavish Scott: We are determined to tackle the unacceptable abuse of disabled parking spaces.

  Scotland introduced the Power To Inspect Legislation on 1 January 2004, which is designed to tackle the abuse of the Blue Badge Scheme by able-bodied members of the public, who deliberately forge, tamper or steal blue badges. This law applies to all disabled parking bays protected by a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) which are implemented by the local councils in Scotland.

  In addition to the Power to Inspect Legislation, the Executive has also been holding talks with the main supermarket chains to discuss solutions and ideas to prevent the unacceptable abuse of disabled parking bays in supermarket and retail park car parks. As a result of these initial talks, my officials are now discussing with a number of supermarket chains, pilot schemes to identify the most effective ways of addressing the problems of off-street parking for disabled people.

  I am pleased to say that we have had a positive response to our discussions and we will be progressing this over the coming months.

Education

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it places on modern language learning in primary schools.

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it places on modern language learning in secondary schools.

Peter Peacock: We consider language learning to be very important at all ages and since 2001 we have provided education authorities with £18.5 million to support languages learning and teaching.

  Moreover, in A Partnership for A Better Scotland we guaranteed every pupil the opportunity to learn a modern European language starting in the Primary school. A recent evaluation of languages provision in Scotland by HMIE shows that we are well on target for meeting this commitment with 98% of Primary 7 pupils learning a modern language.

Education

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to increase attainment in modern language learning.

Peter Peacock: The £18.5 million languages fund provided to education authorities since 2001 has been used to: train modern languages teachers; allow teachers to be seconded to support modern languages developments; enhance learning and teaching resources; provide foreign language assistants; support cluster planning; provide links abroad; and to teach languages to nursery pupils and those with Additional Support Needs. We believe that this will have had a positive impact on attainment.

  Through the implementation of A Curriculum for Excellence we will revise and streamline Primary curriculum guidelines and overhaul the curriculum in S1 to S3 to increase opportunities for challenge, choice and motivation. Work in these areas will ensure that children are able to maintain their progress in learning as they move from pre-school to primary, and from primary to secondary school. It will also allow teachers more flexibility and scope to provide rich and varied experiences. The actions under A Curriculum for Excellence are expected to improve motivation and attainment across the whole curriculum.

Education

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation has been undertaken of the Partners in Excellence modern language learning project which is currently operational in the Argyll and Bute, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire local authority areas.

Peter Peacock: The Partners in Excellence project was independently evaluated in 2004 by the Scottish Centre for Information on Language Technology and Research (SCILT). A copy of Partners in Excellence Evaluation Report is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib number 37191). It is also available on the internet at http://www.scilt.stir.ac.uk/PDFfiles/PiE%20Final.pdf .

  A brief evaluation is also given in section 2.10 of the report Progress in addressing the recommendations of Citizens of a Multilingual World published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) on 23 March 2005. A copy is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 37190) and on the internet at: http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/hmiecoaml.pdf.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has evaluated on whether there is a relationship between the number of hours spent watching television and children's academic achievement.

Peter Peacock: Researchers in SEED are aware of published research findings that examine the relationship between time spent watching television and children’s academic achievement. The Department has not, however, assessed the body of research in this field.

Education

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all those local authorities that were not given the opportunity by COSLA to bid for funding for a pilot scheme for the education of children in care will now be given the opportunity to bid for additional resources from the Scottish Executive and whether guidelines will be issued to ensure that when such programmes are delegated to COSLA local authorities other than Labour-controlled authorities get the opportunity to bid for such monies.

Peter Peacock: All local authorities had the opportunity to participate in this programme. I wrote to all 32 Chief Executives on 26 October 2004 announcing the £6 million additional funding for a programme of educational support for looked after children and advising them that pilot areas would be identified in consultation with COSLA. The one local authority that is not a member of COSLA did not indicate any concern with this approach nor note any interest with the Executive.

Environment

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14411 by Ross Finnie on 25 February 2005, how many calls the "Dumb Dumpers" hotline has received in each month since February 2005 and what the cost has been of providing the hotline since the inception of the initiative.

Ross Finnie: The number of calls received monthly by the "Dumb Dumpers" stop line since February 2005 is as follows:

  February 2005 - 242

  March 2005 – 296

  April 2005 – 160

  May 2005 – 135

  June 2005 – 111

  July 2005 – 143

  Total – 1,087

  This brings the total number of calls received by the stop line since it started on 9 March 2004 to 2,392.

  The total cost to date of providing the stop line is £24,506.

  These figures were supplied by Keep Scotland Beautiful who co-ordinate the initiative on behalf of the Scottish Fly-tipping Forum.

Fertility Treatment

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage more men to donate sperm for use in assisted conception treatment.

Lewis Macdonald: Earlier this year, the Scottish Executive contributed to a national campaign, in collaboration with the Department of Health, to encourage more individuals, both men and women, to donate gametes for use in assisted conception treatment.

Fertility Treatment

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any contingency plans in place to ensure that the NHS has adequate supplies of donor sperm for use in assisted conception treatment in the event of a shortage.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive does not have any contingency plans in place in the event of a shortage of donor sperm.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why the treatment of infertility is not covered by NHS waiting list targets.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why the NHS has to guarantee an infertility out-patient appointment within 26 weeks but the waiting time for a patient to receive treatment can be three to five years.

Lewis Macdonald: Infertility treatment has never been included in the Waiting Times Guarantee as it is measured separately from national waiting times standards. However, the Executive is about to launch a review of access criteria for NHS funded assisted conception treatment. Following this review, we will consider the need to apply a target waiting time for tertiary infertility treatment.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total number of accident and emergency attendances was in each NHS board area in each of the last five years for which figures were available.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is shown in the following table. Data for the year ending March 2005 are not yet complete.

  The figures include return attendances as well as new presentations.

  NHSScotland – Accident and emergency Attendances1; by NHS Board Area Years Ending 31 March 2000 - 2004

  

 
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004


Scotland
1,552,634
1,530,276
1,527,403
1,501,272
1,513,863


Argyll and Clyde
149,082
 148,378
 147,806
 144,412
 151,214


Ayrshire and Arran
116,287
 111,695
 109,220
 107,188
 110,035


Borders
29,532
 30,531
 31,823
 32,219
 31,503


Dumfries and Galloway
39,483 
 40,175
 41,898
 42,104
 42,709


Fife
89,652
 90,591
 89,305
 85,360
 88,916


Forth Valley
76,571
 76,542
 77,228
 75,219
 75,030


Grampian
124,890
 113,419
 114,252
 109,222
 102,699


Greater Glasgow
376,734
 373,273
 370,410
 363,440
 359,969


Highland
61,749
 61,028
 61,225
 59,231
 64,776


Lanarkshire
160,336
 163,472
 159,772
 165,762
 174,120


Lothian
206,080
 203,918
 197,654
 188,191
 183,639


Orkney
2,551
 2,555
 2,714
 2,915
 3,292


Shetland
7,190
 7,407
 8,972
 7,999
 8,036


Tayside
105,809
 100,005
 107,780
 109,623
 109,058


Western Isles
6,688
 7,287
 7,344
 8,387
 8,867



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Note: 1. Excludes patients attending for A&E treatment that are seen by GPs.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16432 by Colin Boyd QC on 8 July 2005, how many reported (a) assaults, (b) petty assaults and (c) breaches of the peace, excluding a charge of racial aggravation, there were in each year since 2002-03, broken down by police force.

Elish Angiolini QC: Petty assault does not exist as a classification within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s operational database. All cases reported by the police which involve an assault include a detailed description of the circumstances and nature of the assault.

  The following table provides a breakdown of charges of assault and breach of the peace that did not include a racial aggravation.

  Charges Not Including a Racial Aggravation

  

Charge
Police Force
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Assault
Central
2,768 
3,152 
3,315 


 
Dumfries and Galloway
950 
1,278 
1,140 


 
Fife
2,567 
2,563 
3,011 


 
Grampian
3,013 
2,680 
2,954 


 
Lothian and Borders
2,520 
2,689 
3,304 


 
Northern
2,071 
2,330 
2,448 


 
Strathclyde
16,587 
17,365 
18,881 


 
Tayside
3,029 
3,360 
4,107 


Assault Total
 
33,505 
35,417 
39,160 


Breach of the Peace
Central
5,259 
3,845 
4,950 


 
Dumfries and Galloway
1,623 
2,229 
2,507 


 
Fife
4,065 
3,955 
4,227 


 
Grampian
4,832 
4,300 
4,278 


 
Lothian & Borders
8,320 
7,928 
8,837 


 
Northern
4,613 
4,923 
5,229 


 
Strathclyde
43,219 
45,559 
47,442 


 
Tayside
6,694 
7,192 
7,046 


Breach of the Peace Total
 
78,625 
79,931 
84,516 



  Notes:

  1. There are 124 separate charge codes containing the word 'assault'. The results in this table are restricted to the following charges - assault; assault injury; assault to danger of life; assault disfigurement; assault severe injury; assault severe injury and danger of life; assault to severe injury, disfigurement; assault to severe injury, disfigurement, danger of life; assault to severe injury, disfigurement, impairment; assault to severe injury, impairment; assault to severe injury, impairment, danger of life.

  2. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s operational database is accused-based. The figures in the table therefore relate to the number of persons charged with assault rather than the number of assaults that gave rise to such charges.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16432 by Colin Boyd QC on 8 July 2005, how many reported (a) assaults, (b) petty assaults and (c) breaches of the peace, including a charge of racial aggravation, there were in each year since 2002-03, broken down by police force.

Elish Angiolini QC: Petty assault does not exist as a classification within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s operational database. All cases reported by the police which involve an assault include a detailed description of the circumstances and nature of the assault.

  The following table provides a breakdown of the charges of assault and breach of the peace that included a racial aggravation.

  Charges Including a Racial Aggravation

  

Charge
Police Force
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Assault
Central
4
6
16


 
Dumfries and Galloway
0
4
4


 
Fife
11
9
8


 
Grampian
12
14
18


 
Lothian and Borders
52
54
92


 
Northern
8
20
11


 
Strathclyde
201
239
334


 
Tayside
22
30
46


Assault Total
310
376
529


Breach of the Peace
Central
8
7
32


 
Dumfries and Galloway
1
13
18


 
Fife
39
37
34


 
Grampian
16
11
20


 
Lothian and Borders
55
33
72


 
Northern
27
35
41


 
Strathclyde
113
157
207


 
Tayside
26
50
63


Breach of the Peace Total
285
343
487



  Notes:

  1. There are 124 separate charge codes containing the word "assault". The results in this table are restricted to the following charges - assault; assault injury; assault to danger of life; assault disfigurement; assault severe injury; assault severe injury and danger of life; assault to severe injury, disfigurement; assault to severe injury, disfigurement, danger of life; assault to severe injury, disfigurement, impairment; assault to severe injury, impairment; assault to severe injury, impairment, danger of life.

  2. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s operational database is accused-based. The figures in the table therefore relate to the number of persons charged with assault rather than the number of assaults that gave rise to such charges.

Life Expectancy

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the life expectancy rates were for (a) males and (b) females in each year from (i) 1980 to 1985 and (ii) 1990 to 1995, broken down by NHS board area.

George Lyon: The information requested is given in Life expectancy at birth 1980 to 1995 , a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 37186).

National Health Service

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many managerial posts there are within the NHS and how many there have been in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Andy Kerr: Managerial posts cannot be specifically identified from centrally held information. However, information on Administrative and Clerical, and Senior Management staff in post in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at: www.isdscotland.org/workforce .

  Tables G1 and G2 show the whole time equivalent (WTE) number and headcount respectively for Administrative and Clerical grades 7-10 and senior management grades broken down by year and NHS Board area. Administrative and Clerical grades 7 and above and senior management grades have been grouped together to more accurately reflect the overlapping nature of the corresponding payscales. Latest available figures are at 31 March 2005.

  Managers work in a range of jobs and have a rich mix of skills including those required in health promotion and in workforce and service planning. Some have professional clinical qualifications and are employed in jobs which are in support of but not direct patient care. These individuals also support and manage front line clinical staff freeing them up to use their skills in the most efficient way such as in the reduction of waiting times for patients.

Non-Domestic Rates

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) total non-domestic rate income and (b) average non-domestic rate bill paid for businesses with a rateable value (i) £3,000 or less, (ii) £3,001 to £4,000, (iii) £4,001 to £5,000, (iv) £5,001 to £6,000, (v) £6,001 to £7,000, (vi) £7,001 to £8,000, (vii) £8,001 to £9,000, (viii) £9,001 to £10,000 and (ix) £10,001 and above was for (1) each local authority and (2) Scotland as a whole for each year since 1997.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is not held centrally.

Personal and Nursing Care

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what budget has been set by each local authority for the provision of (a) free personal care in care homes (b) free nursing care in care homes and (c) free personal care at home for the current financial year.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. Local authorities have notified the Executive of their total budgeted expenditure for 2005-06 but this information is not broken down to the level of detail requested.

Personal and Nursing Care

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that residents in care homes are receiving the level of personal and nursing care which is appropriate to their individual needs.

Lewis Macdonald: Local authorities have duties under sections 12 and 12A of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to assess the needs of adults who appear to need community care and, in the light of the assessment, to provide appropriate services. For people requiring care in a care home, local authorities would either provide the service through one of their own care homes or by contracting with an independent sector home.

  The Executive has supported the discharge of these duties, and the provision of quality care by:

  
providing guidance and funding support to local authorities;
establishing single shared assessment and care management – a more holistic, efficient and effective approach to assessing individual needs, and the provision of a care package to meet those needs leading to better and faster outcomes for individuals;
establishing the Care Commission to regulate the quality of care services; and
establishing the Social Work Inspection Agency to carry out performance inspections of social work services, including assessing local authorities’ commissioning strategies for community care services.


  Individuals who are not satisfied with the support provided can access the complaints procedures of the local authority, the care home or the Care Commission.

Personal and Nursing Care

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the responsibilities are of local authorities to assess whether residents in care homes are receiving the level of personal and nursing care which is appropriate to their individual needs and what sanctions the Executive can take if these responsibilities are not fulfilled.

Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-17934 answered on 9 August 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Physiotherapy

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to increase physiotherapist care for multiple sclerosis sufferers living in the Black Isle, Dingwall and West Ness areas.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is for NHS Highland to decide how best to meet the needs of people in its care. I understand that there is a dedicated rehabilitation team based in the Ross Memorial Hospital in Dingwall, which serves the Black Isle, Dingwall and West Ness communities and this team provides physiotherapist care for all neurological conditions.

Physiotherapy

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to appoint a physiotherapist to look after multiple sclerosis sufferers in the Ross Memorial Hospital in Dingwall.

Mr Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the question S2W-17802 answered on 9 August 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Racial Offences

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16432 by Colin Boyd QC on 8 July 2005, how many charges involving a statutory racial offence and separately racial aggravation were referred to the Reporter to the Children’s Panel in each year since 2002-03.

Elish Angiolini QC: Information on the number of charges referred by Procurators Fiscal to the Reporter to the Children’s Panel is set out in the following table:

  Charges Referred to the Reporter to the Children’s Panel

  

 
Police Force Area
1. FY 02-03
2. FY 03-04
3. FY 04-05
Grand Total


Racial Charge
Central
12
16
44
72


 
Fife
7
11
6
24


 
Grampian
4
0
5
9


 
Lothian and Borders
20
17
19
56


 
Northern
1
0
1
2


 
Strathclyde
61
124
116
301


 
Tayside
0
7
5
12


Charge Total
 
105
175
196
476


Aggravation
Fife
0
2
2
4


 
Lothian and Borders
17
10
16
43


 
Northern
0
0
2
2


 
Strathclyde
25
55
52
132


 
Tayside
2
3
0
5


Aggravation Total
 
44
70
72
186



  Note : The information in the table relates to the number of charges and not to the number of accused persons. The 476 charges involving racial offences involved a total of 399 accused. The 186 charges involving a racial aggravation involved a total of 84 accused.

Research

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research projects it has commissioned since 1999 and what the timetable is for the publication of each piece of research that has yet to be completed.

Mr Tom McCabe: To provide a comprehensive answer to this question would involve disproportionate cost. There are, however, a number of websites where Scottish Executive's research programmes are recorded:

  
The annual report of the Scottish Executive Health Department Chief Scientist's Office, available at www.show.scot.nhs.uk/cso, gives details of research grants awarded.
The current research programme of the Education Department is available at: www.scotland.gov.uk/insight. 
The publications section of that Website lists earlier publications, by topic.
Research commissioned by the Science and Research Group of the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department is described at www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/research/abrg.
The Website of the Environment Group of ERAD is at: www.scotland.gov.uk/environment-group-research. 
Social research contracts across Departments, in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2003-04: www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/research/research/sr/secontractors.
Research projects commissioned in connection with official statistics are detailed in the relevant topic pages of the statistics website: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics.

Roads

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the net book value of Scotland’s roads was at 30 April 2004 and why the cost of capital charges increased by £66 million in 2003-04 but by approximately £35 million per annum in subsequent years.

Tavish Scott: The Net book value of the trunkroad network in Scotland as at 1 April 2004 was £10.6 billion.

  The cost of capital is a notional charge on the Net Assets of an organisation and is currently levied by HM Treasury at 3.5% on the average of the opening and closing net book value of the roads network for a specific financial year.

  The future spending years outlined in the Draft Budget 2005-06, have proposed budget plans which anticipate an increased Cost of capital charge. This increase has been forecast on an annual increase to the value of the trunk road network of 9% per annum for the three future spending years 2005-06 to 2007-08.

  The roads capital charge in the transport budget is ringfenced expenditure: it is an accounting technique to allow the value of the trunk road network to be reflected in the Executive’s budget and its accounts, to recognise that Government as a whole incurs an interest cost for investment in the road network. This has been devolved to the Executive as a capital charge, and the budget plans have been specifically increased to cover this.

Schools

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of all the schools designated as Schools of Ambition, including the criteria used for selecting these schools, the additional resources each will be allocated, what targets they have been set, what involvement the private sector will have and what review and monitoring arrangements will be in place to assess progress.

Peter Peacock: These details are published on the Scottish Executive’s website:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/News-Extras/schoolsambition .

Scottish Executive Contracts

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which five management consultancies received the highest value of contracts awarded by it in each of the last five years and what the total value was of the contracts awarded to each.

Mr Tom McCabe: Listed are the payments made over the past three years where the word consultancy appears in the account code. Information pre SEAS is not available.

  02/03

  

Vendor Name
Ac
Ac Desc
Invoice Amount SUM


Glasgow City Council
60101555
Consultancy Services Swsg 2
440,457.63


Astron Document Services Limited
60100650
Committees and Consultancies
286,441.00


Sinclair Knight Merz
20001425
Rail Consultancies
213,914.22


ICAS Limited
40100905
Consultancy
163,716.85


Press Data Bureau
40100905
Consultancy
154,603.78



  03/04

  

Vendor Name
Ac
Ac Desc
Invoice Amount SUM


Ernst & Young LLP
60052650
Rail Consultancies
752,091.09


PA Consulting Services Limited
60253240
Safety Cameras PA Consulting
371,192.02


Astron Document Services Limited
60100650
Committees and Consultancies
342,047.26


Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
60204205
Consultancy Services:Other
244,573.45


Valuation Office Agency
60204205
Consultancy Services:Other
227,086.38



  04/05

  

Vendor Name
Ac
Ac Desc
Invoice Amount SUM


Newell and Budge Security Limited
40100905
Consultancy
951,346.47


Office For National Statistics
40100905
Consultancy
883,169.00


Ernst & Young LLP
60171310
Rail Consultancies
864,357.85


Miller Mitchell Burley Lane
40100905
Consultancy
671,326.50


Astron Document Services Limited
60221765
Tobacco consultation
457,178.45

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of salaries was in each of its departments in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is set out in the following table. Restructuring of Departments in the Scottish Executive over the period affects some of the year on year comparisons.

  

Department
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


 
(£000)
(£000)
(£000)
(£000)
(£000)
(£000)


Development
11,242
13,103
14,829
17,228
16,968
10,997


Education
11,962
13,570
8,012
9,373
9,872
10,725


Enterprise, Transport & Lifelong Learning
7,896
8,611
9,409
9,779
11,605
18,610


Environment & Rural Affairs
22,622
24,442
28,996
29,121
30,647
32,688


Finance and Central Services
10,981
13,342
19,318
17,674
18,699
16,465


Health
8,745
10,107
11,426
12,335
13,497
13,758


Justice
7,718
8,780
8,961
6,924
8,089
8,957


Corporate Services (1) (including OPS and LPS)
16,317
17,480
20,605
26,806
31,693
37,651


 
97,483
109,435
121,556
129,240
141,070
149,851



  Note: 1. OPS Is Office of the Permanent Secretary; LPS is Legal and Parliamentary Services.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on organising or sponsoring conferences in each year since 1997.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does not keep a central record of expenditure on conferences or similar events.

Scottish Executive Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people employed by it and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) have a compulsory retirement age of 65.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive normal retirement age is 60, although staff can be retained on a yearly basis up to age 65 provided their performance, conduct and attendance are satisfactory and there is a post available. This policy extends to all Scottish Executive core departments, agencies and associated departments, which amounts to around 7,500 staff.

  NDPBs are responsible for determining their own staff terms and conditions of employment and we do not hold information centrally on this.

Transport

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to amend the Motor Vehicles (Off Road Events) Regulations 1995.

Tavish Scott: No.

Transport

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make provision for community councils and local authorities to be consulted as part of the authorisation process under the Motor Vehicles (Off Road Events) Regulations 1995.

Tavish Scott: We have no evidence to suggest these Regulations are not working as they are intended to and therefore have no plans to amend them at this time.